Leaf Rubbings
2 Nov
If you live in the North East, then you know what a beautiful time of year this is right now. The leaves are changing colors and the ground is slowly getting covered in a blanket of reds and oranges.
Whenever Autumn comes, I want to reach out and save it somehow. Save the reds and oranges and yellows. Save the beautifully colored mountain views. I have tried, and so have my kids. We have piles of leaves near the back door, a bucket filled with acorns, and remnants of Autumn all over the house. But, alas… those methods have not worked. Those good intentions have turned into crinkly old leaves that get stepped on and crushed. The acorn pile is now rolling around the kitchen floor, and there are countless sticks cluttering the shoe box. This week we finally found a way to “save” Autumn, a way that doesn’t clutter the back door. We found Leaf Rubbings.
My Kids Make Leaf Rubbings, and yours can too! Find some leaves and start MAKING:
Leaf Rubbings turned out to be a very fun project. The kids experimented with different colored crayons and created very beautiful leaves. Some looked truly realistic with the color combination.
Lay a leaf underneath a piece of paper and rub a crayon over top.
This method worked really well when I taped the leaf to the underside of the paper so that the kids didn’t have to worry about the leaves moving around underneath.
I cut the leaves out and taped them onto a giant tree I had previously made from construction paper.
Now we can enjoy the beauty of Autumn, even if it does start snowing soon.
Welcome to My Kids Make. I'm Becky, mom to 2 cuties, Sydney and Silas.
Taping the leaf to the paper is genius!
The leaves look so realistic. I really like the colors and how the veins show up.
Silas, you did a really good job.
Very, very nice. What a great idea sticking them on the tree, the apples all picked and the leaves turning color.
The leaf taping is a good idea. I will have to try that!!!
Very artsy!
Ooooh! I had forgotten all about this fun project!! We did it as kids. The tape is genious! as well as cutting the leaves out and decorating with them! I think this is a project that I can manage with my kids. Great idea!
That tree looks fantastic! Great job!
Thanks for all the comments. It was fun to make the leaves and they look cool up on the tree. I am planning on swapping out the leaves for other seasonally appropriate things throughout the year, so keep an eye out for those in the future.
I forgot how beautiful this can be – makes me want to do it myself!
Hey, Becky! I have a friend who just did a leaf project, hammering leaves on muslin. The color leaks out in the leaf pattern. You just lay bright leaves pretty side up (backside of leaf against muslin) and hammer away. Bet the kids would love it!